COWIE Group, the company behind Blackburn-based Ford dealership, has undergone a stock market change.
From this month the firm has been reclassified as a transport group instead of a motor distributor.
The decision follows Cowie's recent purchase of British Bus for £282.3 million and North East Bus for £24.5 million which resulted in the group becoming the second largest bus operator with 18 per cent of the national bus market.
"While we continue to be the most profitable of the UK dealer groups and remain a large and successful company car leasing operator.
"Our potential for growth is now influenced much more strongly by our bus operations," explained chief executive Gordon Hodgson. "Our reclassification as a transport group is much more representative of our business activities.
"It positions the group in a sector which generally enjoys a higher rating."
The firm is also one of 20 new additions to the FT-SE world indices where the group is classified under rail and road transport.
Cowie Group is now one of Britain's top 200 companies employing nearly 20,000 people.
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